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How To Train Your Auror	By : Alcoholic_Rootbeer Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 7512 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I will not make a profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 10
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I don't know where you're going
But do you got room for one more troubled soul?
I don't know where I'm going
But I don't think I'm coming home and I said
I'll check in tomorrow if I don't wake up dead
This is the road to ruin
And we're starting at the end
Alone Together -Fall Out Boy
Hermione threw him from her mind at once, slamming it closed like a vice. "You." She glared, jerking away from him. "You created the Pandora Mine."
Draco sat coldly across from her, his face unreadable. He dared not move in fear of her wrath. She held so much of it in her eyes. "I might have had a hand in it. That doesn't mean it was used for its intended purpose."
"What does that even mean?" She felt her promise slip from her. How could she be understanding of someone who would create something so devastating? "You assured me that you weren't involved in anyone's death."
"Technically, I told you not to my knowledge. Remember when I told you I stopped reading the paper? -The Pandora Mine was never intended to kill, Hermione. I didn't make it for that purpose! Do you really think I'd do that?"
"I don't know what you're capable of anymore," she whispered, drawing her wand. Draco looked pain stricken. "But if you come anywhere near me right now, I know exactly what I'm capable of."
"Why are you acting like this?" His voice grew frustrated. He ran his fingers through his blonde tresses, but did not take a step closer. "You said you'd be here on the other side. You said that."
Yes, she had promised that… but, "That was before I knew you were responsible for Ronald's death."
Draco's eyebrows curved upwards, a mixture of confusion and insult written across them. "I'm not responsible for any deaths. Bastian Cane is. I never created that box to explode. Its sole purpose was to drain magic from a mass group of individuals at once. That's it. Cane added the little details later. -I was supposed to make weapons that withdrew magic from their hosts. You think I'd do that just to blow people up? I'm insulted. -If I were going to hatch a devious plan, do you not think I would put a bit more flair into it? Explosions are messy and leave far too much evidence."
"Do you hear yourself right now? You sound like a serial killer."
"I sound exactly like what I am. A Malfoy. And a Malfoy has a code."
"Be a pompous curd at all times?"
"Don't get caught." His fists shook as he struggled to contain himself. She could tell it took everything in him to stay, to obey her. "And so far I've done a brilliant job of that. -If you truly think I'm at fault here, why haven't you left already and turned me in to your teacher of the year?"
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when it dawned on her that she had never actually any intention of leaving. She wanted him to feel terrible, yes, but the idea of throwing him under the train wouldn't satisfy her. Not without more answers. And because, deep down inside of her, she could already feel forgiveness preparing to strike. What would she have done, if the tables were turned? Bastian Cane's offer had sounded promising. Perhaps she still would have turned it down, but then again she had never been put in the position Draco had been. Tainted in the eyes of society for a Mark that was never his choice, forced to wear the reminder day after day that his father's love was nothing compared to the love he had possessed for Pure blood tradition. He would sell his own son's soul to stay safe and in good sorts with Voldemort. And that had to have made an impression on such a young and vulnerable Draco, didn't it? -They both were branded, it was true, but only Draco's held the weight of a Father's betrayal.
"You want to blame me for the city last night, that's fine," Draco added. "But tell me something. How am I responsible for Weasley's death? That's why you're angry, isn't it?"
"Ron died investigating a lead," she said out loud, trying to from the pieces together. "They said it was an accident. That a cursed object went off in the vicinity. But that never set right with me. I've never known a cursed object to do what it did. And when I implored the Ministry to tell me what he was investigating, they told me that it was sealed away. I applied myself to be an Auror to get those files. To figure out exactly what happened so that I could put away the bastard that did this to him." She lowered her wand. "Before Ron passed, he said there were discrepancies in the Ministry that didn't make sense. Money that was transferred from vault to vault with covers. And when he was on the verge of discovering those secrets…"
"Boom?"
Hermione scowled. "Must you be so crude?"
"Look, just because Weasley died by the hands of an explosion it doesn't mean it was a Pandora Mine. They're very rare, Hermione. I should know. I'm the only one capable of replicating them."
"And why is that?"
"Because I never wrote any of it down." He pressed his finger to his temple. "Insurance. It's how I was able to get out when I did. Cane isn't about to kill me with these secrets locked away."
"And where is Cane now?"
"How the Hell should I know? The moment I found out Tori was pregnant, I told him I was through."
"And he just let you leave?"
His face tensed, and he averted his gaze. "I might have burned down his entire warren in the process of getting my point across. And then told him that should he contact me, I'd go to the Ministry with everything."
"Oh, that's brilliant. Burn down an evil man's lair and hope he doesn't exact revenge! Smart, Draco."
"Hey, don't chastise me. -I did it to protect everyone from that psychotic arsehole!" His voice got louder the more he went on. "I destroyed everything. I took down his entire enterprise. If anything I'm a bloody hero!"
"Don't fool yourself into thinking that cleaning up your mistakes makes you a hero. You could have said no! Why on Earth would allow yourself to be used?"
"You don't think I don't know all of this?" He yanked up his left sleeve and thrust the Dark Mark out so that she had no choice but to stare at it. "This is why! Because every day I'm reminded of what poor choices have cost me!"
"You should have gone to the Ministry anyways!"
"I know!"
"You're an idiot!"
"I know I am!"
His confession caught her off guard -so much so that a nervous laugh escaped her lips. "Do you?"
"Of course I do." His voice dimmed, and he lowered his arm. "I was a ridiculous post adolescent who thought the only way to make things better was to go the selfish route. I wasted years of my life thinking only of myself. And by the time I realized that I was capable of being loved without removing the Mark, the damage was already too great to repair what little bit of hope for my soul there was."
Guilt pinged at Hermione like a needle, deflating her anger.
Draco went on. "I don't expect my son or my ex-wife to forgive me for doing the things I've done. But the legacy I've left my son is a pile of proverbial rubble. I thought if I… if I became an Auror and brought Cane in the legal way, I might be able to repair the Malfoy name. Give him a future I never had."
"So… so you want to bring in Cane?"
"That's exactly what I want to do."
"And if he rats you out for your part?"
"At least I'll have a clear conscience on my head when I'm done."
"Oh…. Oh Draco." Her feet moved before her brain had time to stop her. She crossed the room and threw her arms around him, dropping her wand to the floor. Draco stood ridged, obviously stunned by her actions. Hermione felt her resolve slip completely. What if this were Ron? Or Harry? What if they had come to her, confessed in her the way Draco had? Would she have held them in contempt for the rest of their lives? No. She would have looked for the good -it's just who she was. Who she wanted to be. When Ron had been consumed by the force of a Horcrux, had she given up hope? No. Why should this be any different? Draco Malfoy had never been strictly evil -people's actions weren't just black and white, were they? There were shades of gray that made up a person's soul. Reasons for actions. Could she herself say she was free of sin?
"Hermione," he whispered, allowing his hands to slip around her. He rested his chin on the top of her head.
"You'd really get yourself thrown in Azkaban for the sake of making up for your actions?" she murmured into his chest. She could hear his heart beating wildly against his sternum.
"I'd do whatever it took to take down Cane. I'd just rather not go to Azkaban before I do. Sort of defeats the entire purpose."
"You prat." She swallowed hard, fighting back tears. "You shouldn't have kissed me."
"I know I- wait, what?"
She tilted her head up to look at him. "You shouldn't have kissed me if you knew you weren't going to be around to pick up the pieces someday."
Bewilderment broke out across his face, covered up by a soft smirk. "And… you'd want me to pick up the pieces? Knowing what you know?"
She pulled her eyes away, pondering. Did she want something to happen between them? Was that really something that was plausible? She had never considered the possibility of thinking of anyone else in that way before… not even when Diggle flirted with her. He was handsome, yes, but he came on too strong, and… there was just something about him that she couldn't quite place. Something that told her that he wasn't the kind of person she'd like to pursue. Something that had held her back from allowing him to kiss her at the book store last night. But she had allowed Draco to pull her naked across him in a tub? Where was her mind lately?
"I think…" she began, "That I don't want to push you out of my life just yet." Her fingers skimmed over the muscles in his chest as she spoke. "Last night, you asked me if you were beyond forgiveness. -And… now I don't think it's my place to decide that. Or Astoria's. Or even for Scorpius. It's yours." Her hands crawled up to his cheeks, forcing him to tilt his face down to look at her. "I've known you for a long time. You put on such a good show, I forget that you're kind, underneath it all."
"Kind?" He sounded almost insulted.
"Yes. Whether you like it or not, deep down your heart has always been in the right place."
"I don't think you know me at all, then."
"When we were captured by your family, you didn't tell your family about Harry."
"Out of fear."
"When Crabbe meant to kills us in the Room of Requirement, you protected us."
"Out of guilt."
"Last night, you could have left that Mine for the Ministry to find. You could have let them discover it. You could have let more people die. But you didn't. You saved lives."
"Out of protection for my own secrets."
"No. Out of protection for your fellow man." Hermione stroked his cheek thoughtfully. "I don't need to forgive you, Draco. You need to forgive yourself."
"And… if you discovered that Weasley had been killed by one of my inventions?" he asked, taking time with every word.
"I… I don't know." She dropped her hand. "We haven't crossed that bridge yet."
He nodded, peeling her off of him and stepping back. "But we will. -Fuck sakes… what are we doing?" He turned away from her. "You're right. I shouldn't have kissed you."
"Draco-"
"I might be the reason for your husband being in the ground instead of by your side right now.- I had no business kissing you. I had no business doing anything with you. Astoria was right. I am worthless as a human being."
"Surely she didn't say that to you."
"Surely she did.- You should go."
"Draco Malfoy, I am not going anywhere."
"Yes, Hermione. You are." He walked by her and stood in the doorway of the kitchen. "You're to go home and call upon Auror Diggle at once."
She crossed her arms. "Excuse me?"
"You're to ask him out on a date," he said as-a-matter-of-factly.
"Why on Earth would I want to go on a date with Auror Diggle?"
"Because he fancies you. Because you fancy him -not as much as you fancy me, but really, that's hardly a fair comparison." He smirked, his face lighting up like Christmas lights. "You're going to take him far, far away from the Ministry. You're going to do it, because while you are enticing Diggle with that
sensational rack, I'm going to break into his office and steal Weasley's files for you."
"You would do that?"
"For the sake of… whatever this is between us… yes."
"Friendship, Draco. It's called friendship."
"Yeah. That word just doesn't feel right coming from me." He dismissed it with a wave of the hand. "But if I ever want to be able to think about picking up those pieces, as you so put it, I have to make this right. -And besides, if Diggle cared about you, he wouldn't have put you in this situation to begin with. You deserve answers. And I'm going to get them for you."
Hermione didn't know what to say. If he didn't intend to break the law on her behalf, she might call it chivalrous. As it were, it was still damn decent of him. "Alright. But if you do... you'll need to break into Harry's desk as well. Any cases Ron had been working on would have gone to him. Maybe he knew about Cane. We can't be sure until we take a look for ourselves."
Draco grinned. "You're encouraging me to steal from Potter?"
"To make omelets… you have to crack a few eggs, yes?" She felt relieved. For nearly a year, she had been lost in doubts and questions. And with Draco's help, she had a plan to get answers. "This means a lot to me, Draco."
"Yes, yes. We get it. I'm amazing. -Do me one favor while you're out?"
"Hmm?"
"Try not to let Diggle into your pants."
"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it." She turned her back to him, slowly bending over to retrieve her wand. When she arose, she stalked her away up to him and placed her hands delicately behind her back. "I'll be wearing a skirt."
Draco narrowed his eyes. "Look who decided to grow a sense of humor."
"I've always had one. It's just been a bar above your intelligibility."
"Oh, you mean like my grades in Divination?"
It was Hermione's turn to glower. "That was never a class. That was a joke."
"One that you couldn't pass."
"How do you even remember something like that?"
"I remember any class that I did better in than you."
"Yes, well, I still had Charms, Ancient Runes, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Transfiguration-"
"Hermione? Shut up." Draco reached out and placed a single finger to her lips. "No one cares." He began to chuckle as he withdrew his finger.
"What's… what's so funny?"
"Nothing. I just… I share my darkest secret with you, and here you are babbling on about how well you excelled at Hogwarts. Only you could look past someone's darkness enough to go right to the subject of education."
"Yes, well, education is very important," she mumbled, feeling her cheeks burn. She tucked her wand within her back pocket and pulled some fallen hair back behind her ear. "Wouldn't you agree?"
"Absolutely." He snaked a hand to the back of her neck and rubbed her spine. "Never change, Hermione."
"I'll do my best not to," she whispered. A part of her wished he would forget himself again and kiss her, but he either had no desire to or he had restrained himself, because he removed his hand and slipped it in his pocket.
"You're welcome to stay here and rest, if you'd like," he offered. "But I understand if you'd like to return home."
"I… I think that would be best. For now."
"I'd like to share some more memories with you in the future, if you're up for it. It's cathartic."
"Alright."
"Would you like to use the floo?"
"Yes. That sounds fine."
He offered out his arm, probably a remnant of his Malfoy upbringing. Hermione had never seen him be as courtly as he had been in the last twenty-four hours. But she took his arm all the same and allowed him to lead her into one of the massive dens of the Manor, where a grand fireplace took the attention of the room. He plucked the bag of floo poweder off of the mantle, and she grabbed up a hand full.
"When you set up your date with Diggle, write me. I'll make sure to make my evening free." He gave a tiny wink. "And… Scorpius will be here Wednesday, if you'd… like to come over. To see him, of course."
Hermione was overjoyed by the thought. "That would be lovely, Draco. Thank you. After training?"
"Sounds like a—a plan." Had he almost said date? No. He wouldn't have.
"Right." She smiled warmly. "I'll see you Monday, then."
"Monday it is."
Hermione stepped into the fireplace and held out her hand to drop the powder. "Bye…"
"Goodbye, Hermione."
As she released the powder and spoke her address to take her home, she caught one last glimpse of him. He had turned to leave, but across his face was a very handsome smile. She didn't think she had ever seen him smile so freely before.
Ooh, so much plot! I really enjoy writing this. Please let me know your thoughts! Don't fret- we'll get into more of Draco's past as we go. I really hope this story is one that everyone can find something of themselves in. If you have time, please drop a comment or question. I'll be glad to answer them.
Love every single one of you.
A.
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How To Train Your Auror